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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26871712">Enduring</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiapurity/pseuds/kiapurity'>kiapurity</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>FsF [8]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Devil May Cry</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, Sam the Researcher, Supplementary Material, dmcmomsweek</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 19:22:32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,268</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26871712</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiapurity/pseuds/kiapurity</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Enduring the trials of a possible single motherhood isn't an easy feat especially with what is about to come.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Nero's Mother/Vergil (Devil May Cry)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>FsF [8]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1438180</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Enduring</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Mother's day fic for DMC Mom's Week which ultimately failed as I was unable to finish it on time. I hate the pandemic.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>She was pacing back and forth like a caged animal in her “bedroom” which was not too far from the truth. She wanted the comfort of her bedroom back in the cottage or maybe, her childhood bedroom. Ripped away from her small world one day out of the blue and shoved inside one of the many rooms deep within the mansion. Only her companion, Nanny was allowed to move freely which suited Carina just fine.</p>
<p>	She refused to speak to anyone else or acknowledge their presence. Never mind, most of the servants were too terrified to get near the woman. The woman who was heavy with a child and channeling some kind of feral aura. Bitterness weighed heavily on her shoulders as she slumped back in a comfortable recliner. Her back ached from the weight of the unborn child who she quietly spoke to night after night.</p>
<p>	It was a joke that the room she was in was lavishly furnished when anyone else would have expected a cold, sparse room that no one paid any heed to. Of course, there were no rooms like that in this house. She longed to smash a few vases if only to make her feel better. Still, she didn’t know if she foolishly hoped that her promise would hold true-- then reminded herself that it wasn’t a year yet.</p>
<p>	Why did she think to hold out such foolish hopes for a man who might not come back for her, didn’t she learn her lessons from what happened to her failed mother? She swore she would not be like that pitiable creature who came to the door last time, seeking money for a futile quest. No, she would hold her child close and protect him with everything she had.</p>
<p>	“Rose Red?” Nanny called out softly. “Are you okay?”</p>
<p>	“No.” She answered, resting her chin in her hand with her other hand on her swollen belly.</p>
<p>	Regardless, Nanny came into the room with a glass of water. She was clearly concerned for her charge who had shut just about everyone out of her life. Her heart ached for more conversation with the seated woman who she considered to be her daughter as she quietly cursed the man who initiated this latest round of trouble. Nanny tried to do everything in her power to convince Richard to let them return to the cottage, but he wouldn’t have any of it. He was still terrified of potential scandals even though Nanny reminded him, Carina never left the cottage since the pregnancy discovery.</p>
<p>	Didn’t his niece obey well enough, she asked? He shot back with an answer that he wouldn’t have to resort to such extreme measures if the “girl” hadn’t repeated her mother’s mistake. That conversation left a bad taste in Nanny’s mouth as she knew the two situations were not comparable-- the man who left Helen in such a state was a wandering magician of some sort that charmed the entire city. Whereas, the other man in blue was in need of help and desperate for company that he stayed longer than he meant to. That particular man, Nanny felt, was someone who fell head-over-heels in love with Carina so much that he promised to return.</p>
<p>	If there was some way to reach him, Nanny sighed to herself. Then maybe there was a good chance that he would come to her rescue like a prince in a fairy tale. Unfortunately, Nanny was limited in what she could do because she couldn’t leave the island without protecting her charge from Richard’s wrath. There was also the matter of Carina’s brief lapse with depression over the idea of “repeating the same mistakes” before she pulled herself together and told her surrogate mother that, no, she would not abandon her child the way her mother had abandoned her.</p>
<p>	“Thank you for the drink, but I’m fine.” Carina said.</p>
<p>	“I needed an excuse to see you. How are you and the little one?”</p>
<p>	“I’m fine. He’s very restless, feels like he wants out already. I don’t blame him one bit for that.”</p>
<p>	When they were still at the cottage, in what Nanny guessed to be Carina’s sixth month of pregnancy, she announced that she had a dream. The dream told her that her child was going to be a boy with his father’s coloring. That was when they tried to work up all possible escape plans with Carina torn between staying behind because of the promise. How would his father ever find her again if she fled from the cottage? In the end, the escape never happened because by the time Richard got wind of the plan, they were in the mansion.</p>
<p>	“Have you come up with a name?”</p>
<p>	“Yes. I’ve had plenty of time to think and I think I’ve settled on a name that would suit him just fine.” With a wry chuckle, “My little emperor, Nero.”</p>
<p>	“You’ve been hitting the history books too hard.” Nanny responded with a sigh. “Would be nice if you could read something a little light and comforting.”</p>
<p>	“I don’t need that. What I need is my shotgun and blast my way out of this damned house. Damn uncle for grabbing us in the middle of the night like that. Coward.”</p>
<p>	Coward was right. The man was deeply afraid of Carina and Nanny had only begun to figure out why. Sneaking into Richard’s office produced some deeply upsetting results as Nanny was now armed with information that she couldn’t use in any manner. Not that she ever recalled her charge ever using any form of magic while they were in the cottage. As a young child, maybe that was different because sometimes things would break without her touching or paintings mysteriously burned.</p>
<p>	Carina pushed herself out of chair, “I think I’ll take that drink--”</p>
<p>	Before she took another step, her eyes nearly rolled back in her head as the first wave of pain hit her. She instinctively grabbed her belly, crouching low to the ground in pain. Warm fluid trickled down her legs, causing her to stammer out commands to Nanny to close the door and lock it. Nanny quickly put down the glass of water and headed to the door, locking it. She pulled the recliner against the door in an attempt to barricade it. Screw those people!</p>
<p>	Carina squeezed her eyes shut as she rode out wave after wave of cramps. Her skin was becoming damp with sweat as she shed away her underwear. She was going to let bloody instinct take over and birth her child with her bare hands if she had to. No one was going to take her only precious gift away if she could help it. Nanny was in the bathroom getting a damp washcloth as there was no telling how long the labor would last.</p>
<p>	They both lost track of time with Carina being out of her mind from the pain of impending childbirth and Nanny trying everything she could remember from the books she picked up on midwifery. Steady breathing and moving around to hopefully ease the pain. Didn’t take long before servants noticed the erratic noises within the room. The barricade gave away easily because a master key was used-- so much for that delay!</p>
<p>	Richard was summoned and quickly thrown out of the room by a manifested extra arm which left just about everyone involved slack-jawed in shock. Carina had no use for nonsense and told the asshole uncle as much, if he came any closer, she would personally throw him through the mansion. He staunchly obeyed and ran away from the hallway as fast as he could past the alarmed servants.</p>
<p>	Shortly afterwards, a midwife was summoned (with permission of course) while everyone stayed back in fear. The laboring woman appeared to be more feral while a scientist quietly ordered her helpless intern to record everything. The intern looked as if they would be anywhere else but here, complaining that it was rude to intrude on such a moment before being thwacked over the head with rolled up papers.</p>
<p>	“Quiet! If the rumors are true then we might have proof of something great here!”</p>
<p>	The intern rolled their eyes, starting to wobble from the scent. Finally, they sank to the floor, clutching the notebook to their chest. The senior scientist gave a dismissive scowl before they attempted to pry the notebook from the intern. However, the intern had an iron-grip hold which of course, impressed the other scientist.</p>
<p>	“I will keep taking notes in my state if I must. But please do be respectful, Agatha! Think of the ethics!”</p>
<p>	Nonsense, the senior scientist thought to herself. She had never seen such magnificent powers on display from a human. What kind of strangeness brought this out?</p>
<p>	Not like she had any clue herself, being lost in depths of pain familiar to child bearing people. The rule of nature was in progress as she struggled with various birthing positions to ease the pain. The midwife was doing all she could for the expectant mother who longed for the pain to end, to be united with her child in her arms for once and all. Instructions were given and followed to the best of Carina’s ability. Finally, a loud cry was given, joined by a new, angry sounding cry.</p>
<p>	“The lungs on that baby.” The intern muttered, still writing.</p>
<p>	The scene before everyone looked as if it was straight out of a horror movie, ghostly arms clawed into the ceiling with the mother holding her screaming child, still covered in blood with the umbilical cord still trailing into her body where the placenta was waiting. Tears came to her eyes as she looked upon her very angry baby. She understood how he felt as anger was a part of her life for the last several months. Both suffered for so long and they would keep on enduring the suffering in the future.</p>
<p>	Carina rectulantly allowed Nanny to take her baby for a moment while the midwife severed the cord. It did not take very long for the placenta to be delivered with a sickening wet thud on the floor. The ghostly arms faded, allowing her to slowly fall back into the recliner. The midwife finished her examination and gave detailed instructions for the mother to rest as her body went through a lot.</p>
<p>	No shit, Carina thought to herself as Nanny returned the clean baby to her arms. He calmed down considerably since his grand entrance, merely content to be reunited. All digits there, she counted quietly, amazed that this child was once a part of her body. It was very telling that his coloring favored his absent father. (There was already few choice words she had in her head for that stupid idiot for not being here when he should be--!)</p>
<p>	“He really does have your nose.” Nanny chuckled, her attention on her charge. “And your temper, I would think.”</p>
<p>	“First time I’ve ever had a child already screaming their way into the world.” The midwife responded, leaving behind some medicine supplies for the mother. “Do take care, you two.”</p>
<p>	Agatha intercepted the midwife, demanding for the placenta in a sickly sweet voice. Said that it was very important for scientific research. The intern was still on the ground, rolling their eyes once again. The midwife was creeped out but it was hard to protest against The Order when they practically ran the city. She handed over the bagged placenta to the delight of the senior scientist who wanted to see what secrets it held. (“It’s just a placenta…”)</p>
<p>	Windows were opened and flowers in vases placed in the room at Richard’s direction. If only because the smell was extremely overpowering. He was standing over the intern’s body who was openly scowling at Richard as the older man observed the scene before him. It was a kick in the gut to witness a scene like that and it was clear to him just how different everything was. His sister immediately rejected her daughter at birth, wanting nothing to do with her. Now, the daughter was holding onto her son as if he was the only thing that ever mattered to her.</p>
<p>	Nanny left the room, shutting the door behind her to allow the small family some privacy. She was less than thrilled at the scene in the hallway with cowering Richard, a mad scientist holding a bagged placenta and a helpless intern on the floor. The midwife had long since left the mansion.</p>
<p>	“Richard! What is the meaning of this?”</p>
<p>	“You did claim that the father was of Sparda’s blood. They’re here to check.”</p>
<p>	Nanny’s mouth was drawn into a thin line. “I said what I said. Leave them be. And, Sammy! Really?”</p>
<p>	“Evil boss.” Sam the Intern answered from the floor.</p>
<p>	Agatha ignored that remark. “Very well, they can rest for now. But this is not something The Order can ignore. If that child is Sparda’s descendant...“</p>
<p>	“You’re not going to separate the two! I forbid it!” Nanny stamped her foot. “You’ve already put your poor niece through so much shit, Richard! How many times must you punish her for what Helen did?!”</p>
<p>	“I did not say anythin--” Agatha began before being interrupted.</p>
<p>	“Helen abandoned her, remember?” Richard snapped. “At some point history’s going to repeat. How long will it take before Aikaterine does the same thing?”</p>
<p>	“You’re an idiot! You chose to stay behind in your hellish memories that you’ve ignored things that changed around you. How she grew up caring for other people even as you couldn’t bring yourself to care for her!”</p>
<p>	“It’s because she looks like that man who destroyed everything!”</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>	She heard the conversation, sending a raw ache in her chest as she squeezed her eyes shut. Nanny was still fighting for her even now, something that warmed her heart. At least she wasn’t forgotten even as tears threatened to overwhelm her. He should be here!</p>
<p>	“I’m sorry he’s not here to meet you, Nero. I’ll try to fix that, I promise.”<br/>
But how was she going to be able to deliver on that promise? She struggled with the logistics in her head, having had no clues as to how to track him down. But yet, he did mention a brother? Just, maybe if she could find his brother then it shouldn’t be difficult to find him that way. She was going to need a lot of strength for this as she tried to adjust herself to a more comfortable position in the recliner and winced from her sore muscles.</p>
<p>	The next thing she knew, she was back in her bed again with a creepy woman hovering over her. There was a startled angry yelling as she reached out for her baby. The scientist rudely shoved Carina back down.</p>
<p>	“Now, now, don’t get too excited! You’re still recovering after all!”</p>
<p>	“What did you do with Nero?!”</p>
<p>	“Ah, the child. Your minder took him away for a moment and I took the chance! Now, you’re a curious specimen.”</p>
<p>	Carina immediately slapped Agatha’s hand away, looking offended. The scientist yelped and waved her hand. “Stronger than the average human… I shouldn’t be surprised. Intern!”</p>
<p>	Sam the Intern was nowhere in sight, causing Agatha to mentally come up with a list of soul destroying tasks to punish that wayward intern. Then she finally returned her attention to the woman. There was a glint of ominous light on her glasses.</p>
<p>	“Fascinating. The marking on your back does suggest some form of contract with a demon. Not every day one gets to see a living example! I do wonder if that means it requires a certain type of human with extraordinary strength to endure the unusual ritual. And yet, your son is very human.”</p>
<p>	“Something wrong with that?” Carina was starting to get pissed off again. </p>
<p>	“No, nothing! Just that the potential for power isn’t there… yet.”</p>
<p>	Then that was it, Carina roared and threw Agatha straight out of the room into the hallway. She shuddered, wincing from the sore muscles and the effort required to rid of the nuisance. Carina labored to push herself to walk across the room to get to the bathroom. She could do this damn it, even if she was moving at a snail’s pace. She wasn’t going to let herself be helpless to these mad scientists. There was a stray thought back in her head, coaxing her with whispering of power. Nope. Not even going to entertain that thought. Fuck power.</p>
<p>	Nanny finally returned with Nero, looking for her charge. “Are you okay?”</p>
<p>	“Just fucking sore, thanks. Shit.” She winced again. “I deserved that.”</p>
<p>	“No, don’t think that way!” Nanny’s heart broke upon seeing Carina’s crumpled face. “Rose Red?”</p>
<p>	“What are we going to do? I’m scared, Nanny.”</p>
<p>	“Listen to me, we’ll get through this. You just focus on recovering then we’ll get out. Banish these horrible thoughts for now.” There was a brief angry cry. “Oh, I think he’s hungry.”</p>
<p>	After Carina was finished with the sink, she slumped to the floor, too tired to move back to the room. Nanny gently handed over the baby to his mother, saying that she was going to find Carina a clean nightgown in the other room. She was now alone with her little angry emperor baby as her eyebrows furrowed.</p>
<p>	“This shouldn’t be hard, right?”</p>
<p>	The nipple latching went relatively painless even though she admitted that she was a bit confused at first. Reading about one thing was different from seeing it in action. Obviously, she was going to need to keep her strength up to keep him strong and healthy.</p>
<p>	“Looks like you got it.” Nanny said as she handed over the clean nightgown.</p>
<p>	“Yeah, I think I’m going to need something to eat myself.”</p>
<p>	“I’ll see if I can scare something up in the kitchen. If not, I’ll cook a quick meal for you.”</p>
<p>	“Any gossip?”</p>
<p>	“Scared out of their minds, you know.”</p>
<p>	“I’m sure I gave them quite a show.”</p>
<p>	After the feeding was done, Nanny showed Carina how to burp Nero. There was a loud burp which made her laugh on the similarity. On the other hand, the mother wasn’t too impressed and gave a loud sigh in response.</p>
<p>	“Yeah, hard to mistake that he’s mine even if he doesn’t have my coloring. Damn, I’m going to have to beat up some people if they’re going to make fun of him for looking different. At least he’s spared from the yellow eyes.”</p>
<p>	“The times I had to scrub the blood stains out of your dresses. Probably why you started wearing red. I didn’t know if I should have been impressed by your idea or sad that it made the laundry a challenge.”</p>
<p>	“I’m sorry!”</p>
<p>	Nanny helped Carina back to the room (after the nightgown change) when she requested the bed instead of the recliner. Once everything was settled down and Carina was left alone with her child. More thoughts wandered in, a jumble of regrets, what-ifs, and worrying for the future. She pushed them all to the side, focusing on what she had in the here and now. All that mattered to her was Nero.</p>
<p>	At least for the next few days, she enjoyed uninterrupted periods of quiet time bonding with her child and leaning on Nanny for support. The scientists didn’t return until after the end of the week with the woman clearing her throat in Carina’s face again. She was less than thrilled with the return.</p>
<p>	“I thought I told you to get out for a reason?”</p>
<p>	“Owing to the circumstances, you’re more important than the boy. He’s disappointingly normal but your placenta proved extremely interesting. Fragments of demonic power, need more research on… you.”</p>
<p>	Once again, Agatha was thrown into the hallway. Sam the Intern rolled their eyes, screaming at their boss to quit provoking the mother when she should be resting up. Agatha made a noisy <i>hrrmph!</i> sound, retreating into the hallways for a possible new strategy. Sam glanced back into the room at the young woman.</p>
<p>	How did she ever meet one of Sparda’s sons and how the hell did Sam not notice that it happened in Fortuna? They let out an annoyed sigh, banging their head on the doorframe as Nanny came up behind them.</p>
<p>	“Don’t hurt yourself, Sammy.”</p>
<p>	“Nanaya.” Sam sighed. “I need to get the hell out of this organization. It sucks so much.”</p>
<p>	They jumped up as Agatha returned with Richard and several armed Order knights. The group barged into the room as Carina leapt from the bed, in front of the bassinet with her teeth bared. The knights moved in, restraining her and dragging her away from the bassinet.</p>
<p>	“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” Sam yelled at Richard.</p>
<p>	“It’s for the boy’s safety. Agatha, tell them what you told me.” The man had removed Nero from the bassinet, causing the baby to cry.</p>
<p>“A demon has marked her as his bride. When the mark turns white, that means the demon is dead. But the mark will stay with her for life. The boy is not safe while she’s marked like that.”</p>
<p>“That’s bullshit!” Nanny snapped. “You’ve never met him. He would never do anything to harm his own son!”</p>
<p>“The Order is going to take her away for everyone’s safety.” Richard answered. “I will be raising Nero as my own ward.”</p>
<p>There was a high pitched cry of “no” as Carina pushed away the knights with a strong surge of energy. The taunting call of power had found its owner as her sclera instantly blackened, pupils slitting. She was now enveloped in a scorching heat aura that took on a beastly shape, forcing her to assume the posture of a wild animal. She charged at Richard who panicked upon seeing the change.</p>
<p>He was barely able to slam the door before she extended an arm, slamming into it. The knights immediately tackled the angry mother with Nanny and Sam hot on Richard’s heels. Agatha clucked her tongue, “This won’t do.”</p>
<p>She stepped out of the room, watching the woman giving the knights one hell of a workout. Armor that should have not broken, easily broke from her claws. After the knights were down, she turned her attention on the scientist researcher and responded with a low growl.</p>
<p>“Good night.” Agatha slipped on the gas mask and threw the canister into the room.</p>
<p>	Carina started coughing, and staggered forwards, determined to not let the gas stop her. Then a dart fired into her chest, stunning her from the impact. Anger shining in her eyes, she took another step before being shot again, finally sending her to the ground.</p>
<p>	“Magnificent. Just magnificent. To think you could further the research into Uplifting.” Agatha was grinning maliciously behind the gas mask, the last thing Carina saw before slipping into unconsciousness. Her final thought was for her baby, her precious little boy taken away.</p>
<p>	She shot from the couch, screaming out his name and sobbing into a solid chest. Arms immediately went around her, trying to comfort the heartbroken woman. “Mom. It’s okay, I’m here.”</p>
<p>“Nero…?” Carina blinked.</p>
<p>	Yes, that’s right, overwhelmed from the day’s event, she laid down on the couch for a nap and all the memories came flooding back. Everything was so crystal clear that day of her son’s birth. All the pain and grief wrapped up in one neat package.<br/>
“Dad called me ‘cause you were having nightmares. ‘Cause he’s still scared from that time you hit him.”</p>
<p>	Nero glowered over his shoulder at his father who was wisely peeking out from the door frame with Griffon in his slicked white hair, a Shadow on his shoulder and a waving Nightmare at his feet. Carina buried her face in her hands out of embarrassment, worrying that she might have done such a thing again.</p>
<p>	“No, you have not, wife. I thought it wiser to summon our son since you kept crying out for him.”</p>
<p>	And that of the two, she would never hurt Nero where he on the other hand had a massive brain death and tore Nero’s arm off. Vergil was still not sure if she entirely forgave him for accidentally revealing that incident, but Nero definitely was somewhere between annoyed and really annoyed. Vergil slid out from his hiding place and sat down next to the couch as Nightmare climbed onto the coffee table, content with watching over the family.</p>
<p>	“Thanks.” Carina sighed. “I remember being so mad that you weren’t there when I brought Nero into the world with my hands.”</p>
<p>	“Good grief.” Their embarrassed son muttered to himself, mentally making sure Kyrie didn’t get the same bright idea. “You’re not going to do that with the twins, right?”</p>
<p>	“I’ll just make sure your father can at least catch one of them.” She answered sarcastically, causing Vergil to pinch the bridge of his nose.</p>
<p>	“Mom.”</p>
<p>	“It’s not as if you’re going to give birth to a tree demon and a frail looking princess.” Griffon crowed from the top of Vergil’s head.</p>
<p>	“Who gave you permission to talk?” Nero scowled at the bird.</p>
<p>	“Whatever,” Carina shook her head. “I’m glad you’re here now.” </p>
<p>She pulled her husband into the group hug too, damn it. Too many missed years to make up for, but at least they had more years left together. One big happy family as soon as the twins made their debut in the next following months to come. She ruffled the top of Nero’s head, giving him a forehead kiss.</p>
<p>“You’ll still always be my baby.”</p>
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